Bruce Springsteen hinted at further boycotts over discriminatory LGBTQ laws last night (April 14), whilst performing a show in Detroit, Michigan.
Springsteen pulled a concert at late notice last week in North Carolina, after the state passed laws that require individuals to use bathrooms corresponding to their biological sex. The laws could also have knock-on impacts on other areas of LGBTQ rights. Springsteen cancelled the show in Greensboro due to take place on April 10 on Friday, April 8.
At his show in Detroit, according to the Detroit Free Press, Springsteen said that he’d heard Michigan has been looking at a similar law, continuing “we hope the bill doesn’t pass, ‘cause we love playing in Michigan. So keep your heads up.”
When he cancelled his concert last week, Springsteen released a lengthy statement in which he argued:
“No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden. To my mind, it’s an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognising the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress. Right now, there are many groups, businesses, and individuals in North Carolina working to oppose and overcome these negative developments.”
GettySpringsteen’s decision has prompted a number of other musicians to chip in on the issue, with Adam Lambert calling Springsteen “badass.”
The Queen singer told NME “I’m not here to say what is wrong or right. I understand why [Springsteen] would do it, especially if you are an artist with that kind of clout and legacy. It’s a great way to send a message of support or rejection to legislation. It is too bad that those [laws] are happening right now.”
“I think it’s pretty badass that [Springsteen and the E Street Band] cancelled their shows,” he added. “I’ve been in a couple of circumstances like that and I’m always trying to be sensitive to people’s sensitivities. You have to be careful but there’s a real eloquent way to make statements about that kind of stuff.”
Laura Jane Grace of Against Me also spoke out, calling the state’s new laws discriminatory but also explaining why the band wouldn’t be cancelling their own North Carolina shows.
“Going ahead with the show was an easy decision,” she said. “I didn’t even think twice. No way. I’m not not going to North Carolina and playing a show I want to play because of some assholes. Boycotting is totally commendable and I see it as an act of solidarity.”
She added “It’s terrifying that it actually became a reality. It’s ideological discrimination. Total, bigoted discrimination. It’s not something that’s representative of the whole state, just the corrupt, ignorant government.”
